F&M is making headway converting the old Armstrong World Industries facility into practical real estate.
Formerly an industrial site and flooring plant, the barren plot will be transformed into compounds for the College and other new developments through an initiative titled the Northwest Gateway Project, spearheaded by John Fry, president of the College.
Fry, who has been planning the transformation since 2002, has already torn down Armstrong’s 200 buildings and began restructuring the 47 acres. Additionally, F&M is relocating the 30-acre Norfolk Southern rail yard, currently in between F&M and the new facilities, across town.
The project, made possible with help from Lancaster General Hospital, influence of local politicians, and state and federal grants, will result in a nursing college unaffiliated with F&M and several new sports fields. Altogether, the initiative will cost F&M about $75 million.
And due to the project’s ambition, F&M is making national headlines.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly periodical focused on higher education institutions, ran an A1 centerpiece highlighting F&M, the Northwest Gateway Project, and Fry.
In “The College President as Urban Planner: Franklin & Marshall’s John A. Fry helps reclaim industrial site,” The Chronicle lauds Fry as an “entrepreneurial president,” and notes The Northwest Gateway Project “rival[s] projects attempted by institutions with far more clout and money than [F&M].”
But The Chronicle’s story is not completely positive—it also underlines the opposition to the project and ire of many local residents. Lancaster natives fear the relocation of the rail yard will bring noise and pollution to their nearby neighborhoods.
The Chronicle spoke with William Cluck, a lawyer working alongside residents who oppose the redevelopment. Cluck noted the project’s rapid progression and use of public money illustrate the excessive power of F&M and Fry. Cluck attributes the project’s swift implantation not to aptitude, but political sway.
The project is expected to be completed in 2011.
Senior Kevin Zawacki is Editor in Chief. His e-mail is kzawacki@fandm.edu.
